Adverbial Phrases | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

A locução adverbial — "adverbial phrase" in English grammar terminology — is a fixed multi-word expression that behaves like a single adverb. De vez em quando (from time to time), com frequência (often), ao pé de (next to), pouco a pouco (little by little), a toda a pressa (in a great hurry), à vontade (at ease), por acaso (by chance): every one of these is a miniature constellation of two to five words that functions, grammatically, as a single adverb.

Portuguese leans on these phrases much more heavily than English does on its own multi-word adverbs. Where English has a single-word adverb ready to hand (quickly, suddenly, carefully), it uses it. Where Portuguese has a -mente adverb ready to hand (rapidamente, subitamente, cuidadosamente), it very often prefers the phrase (depressa or a correr, de repente, com cuidado). A learner who tries to convert every adverbial idea into a -mente word will sound translated — competent, but not native.

This page shows you how these phrases are built, lists the most common ones by semantic category, and gives you the reflex that PT-PT speakers use constantly: when in doubt, reach for a prepositional phrase.

How adverbial phrases are built

Most adverbial phrases in Portuguese follow one of four structural patterns.

Pattern 1: preposition + noun

By far the most productive pattern. A preposition — usually com, de, em, por, a, or sem — combines with a noun to form a manner, time, or degree adverbial.

Phrase	Meaning	Literal
com cuidado	carefully	"with care"
com frequência	often	"with frequency"
com atenção	attentively	"with attention"
com calma	calmly	"with calm"
de repente	suddenly	"of sudden"
de propósito	on purpose	"of purpose"
em silêncio	silently	"in silence"
em vão	in vain	"in vain"
por acaso	by chance	"by chance"
sem dúvida	without a doubt	"without doubt"
a fundo	thoroughly	"at bottom"
à pressa	in a rush	"at the rush"

Conduz com cuidado — a estrada está molhada.

Drive carefully — the road is wet.

Trabalho com frequência até tarde.

I often work until late.

De repente, começou a chover.

Suddenly, it started raining.

Entrámos em silêncio para não acordar o bebé.

We came in silently so as not to wake the baby.

Pattern 2: noun + preposition + noun

A slightly longer rhythm. Often these phrases express gradation or repetition.

Phrase	Meaning
pouco a pouco	little by little
passo a passo	step by step
cara a cara	face to face
dia a dia	day by day
gota a gota	drop by drop
mão na mão	hand in hand

Pouco a pouco, ele foi recuperando a memória.

Little by little, he recovered his memory.

O Pedro e a Ana atravessaram a rua de mão dada.

Pedro and Ana crossed the street hand in hand.

Pattern 3: preposition + adjective / adverb

Short, tight phrases — many of them idiomatic.

Phrase	Meaning
ao certo	for sure, precisely
por pouco	nearly, by a little
de novo	again
em geral	in general
em breve	shortly, soon
por perto	nearby
por fim	finally, at last
ao longe	in the distance
de perto	up close

Não sei ao certo a que horas ele chega.

I don't know exactly what time he's arriving.

Por pouco não perdi o comboio.

I very nearly missed the train.

Viste aquela cara de perto? Era a Joana!

Did you see that face up close? It was Joana!

Pattern 4: three or more words (fixed expressions)

The longest phrases are fully crystallised — the meaning does not follow from the parts in any transparent way. They are idioms to be memorised.

Phrase	Meaning
de vez em quando	from time to time
de quando em quando	every now and then (slightly literary)
a toda a pressa	in a huge hurry
a torto e a direito	left and right, indiscriminately
às escondidas	in secret
às claras	openly
à vontade	at ease, freely
à toa	aimlessly, for no reason
à pressa	hurriedly
em cima da hora	at the last minute
nem por sombras	not in the slightest

Vou ao ginásio de vez em quando, mas não tanto como devia.

I go to the gym from time to time, but not as much as I should.

Os miúdos andavam a comer gelado às escondidas da mãe.

The kids were eating ice cream in secret, hiding from their mother.

Estás à vontade — podes ficar o tempo que quiseres.

Make yourself at home — you can stay as long as you like.

By category

Here are the most useful adverbial phrases organised by the question they answer.

Frequency — quantas vezes?

Phrase	Meaning	Register
com frequência	often	slightly formal
muitas vezes	many times, often	neutral
poucas vezes	rarely, few times	neutral
às vezes	sometimes	neutral
por vezes	at times	slightly more formal than às vezes
de vez em quando	from time to time	neutral
de quando em quando	every now and then	slightly literary
de tempos a tempos	occasionally, every so often	neutral
todos os dias / meses / anos	every day / month / year	neutral
todas as semanas	every week	neutral
uma vez por semana	once a week	neutral
duas vezes por mês	twice a month	neutral
raras vezes	rarely	slightly formal

Vou ao cinema duas vezes por mês.

I go to the cinema twice a month.

De vez em quando almoçamos juntos, mas não tanto como antigamente.

We have lunch together from time to time, but not as often as we used to.

Raras vezes vejo a minha irmã — ela vive no Brasil.

I rarely see my sister — she lives in Brazil.

Manner — como?

This is the category where PT-PT most consistently prefers phrases over -mente adverbs.

Phrase	Meaning	-mente equivalent (if any)
com cuidado	carefully	cuidadosamente
com calma	calmly	calmamente
com atenção	attentively	atentamente
com jeito	skilfully, tactfully	— (colloquial)
com pressa	in a hurry	apressadamente
com paciência	patiently	pacientemente
em silêncio	silently	silenciosamente
em voz alta	aloud	— (no -mente form)
em voz baixa	quietly, in a low voice	— (no -mente form)
de mansinho	softly, on tiptoe	— (colloquial, diminutive)
aos poucos	gradually	gradualmente
à pressa	hurriedly	apressadamente
à vontade	at ease, freely	— (no -mente form)
às claras	openly, in the open	abertamente
às escondidas	in secret	secretamente
a correr	in a hurry (lit. "running")	— (colloquial)
a pé	on foot	— (no -mente form)
de cor	by heart	— (no -mente form)
de propósito	on purpose	propositadamente
sem querer	unintentionally	involuntariamente

Abre a caixa com cuidado — o conteúdo é frágil.

Open the box carefully — the contents are fragile.

Aos poucos, estou a habituar-me ao novo horário.

Gradually, I'm getting used to the new schedule.

Sei o poema de cor desde miúdo.

I've known the poem by heart since I was a kid.

Desculpa, foi sem querer.

Sorry, it was unintentional.

Fala em voz baixa, o bebé está a dormir.

Speak quietly, the baby is sleeping.

💡

When you have the choice between com atenção and atentamente, or com cuidado and cuidadosamente, native PT-PT speakers pick the prepositional phrase about nine times out of ten in speech. The -mente form is not wrong — it is perfectly grammatical — but it tilts the register slightly formal.

Time — quando?

Phrase	Meaning
há pouco	a little while ago
daqui a pouco	in a little while (future)
daqui a nada	in no time (future, colloquial)
por agora / por enquanto	for now
de momento	at the moment
em breve	shortly, soon
ao mesmo tempo	at the same time
a tempo	on time, in time
a horas	on time, punctual
em cima da hora	at the last minute
de manhã / à tarde / à noite	in the morning / afternoon / evening
de repente	suddenly
entretanto	meanwhile
até agora	until now, so far
por fim	finally, at last

Ele saiu há pouco — se calhar ainda o apanhas na escada.

He left a little while ago — maybe you'll still catch him on the stairs.

Daqui a pouco vou buscar-te à estação.

I'll pick you up at the station shortly.

Por enquanto, não há novidades.

For now, there's no news.

Consegui chegar a tempo por pouco.

I managed to arrive on time, just barely.

Place — onde? para onde?

Most place prepositions in Portuguese are themselves multi-word phrases: em cima de, em baixo de, ao lado de, à frente de. When the object is dropped, these become adverbial phrases answering where.

Phrase	Meaning
em cima	on top, up (above)
em baixo	below, down
ao lado	next door, alongside
à frente	in front, ahead
atrás	behind
por perto	nearby
ao longe	in the distance
à volta	around
de um lado ao outro	from side to side
à beira	at the edge / brink
ao pé	next to, close by (PT-PT idiom)

Mora ao pé da minha casa, cinco minutos a pé.

He lives right near my place, five minutes on foot.

Vi um vulto ao longe e fiquei a olhar.

I saw a shape in the distance and stood staring at it.

O café é ali à frente, depois do cruzamento.

The café is right up ahead, past the crossroads.

💡

Ao pé de is one of the most distinctive PT-PT idioms. A Brazilian would say perto de; a Portuguese speaker uses ao pé de in daily conversation several times a day. Learning to use it naturally is a small marker that you are studying European Portuguese, not Brazilian.

Degree — quanto?

Phrase	Meaning
mais ou menos	more or less
por pouco	nearly, by a little
por completo	completely
em parte	partly, in part
de todo	at all (usually negative)
a mais	too much, extra
a menos	too little, short
quanto muito	at most
quanto baste	enough

Não gostei de todo do filme — perdi tempo.

I didn't like the film at all — I wasted my time.

Pagaste cinco euros a mais.

You paid five euros too much.

Em parte tens razão, mas não totalmente.

You're partly right, but not totally.

Affirmation, negation, doubt

Phrase	Meaning
sem dúvida	without a doubt
com certeza	certainly, for sure
de facto	in fact
por certo	certainly
de maneira nenhuma	in no way, absolutely not
de modo nenhum	in no way
de jeito nenhum	no way (colloquial)
nem por sombras	not in the slightest
talvez sim, talvez não	maybe yes, maybe no
se calhar	maybe, perhaps (PT-PT colloquial)
pode ser	possibly, could be

Com certeza te ligo quando chegar.

I'll definitely call you when I arrive.

De maneira nenhuma vou concordar com isso.

There is no way I'll agree to that.

Se calhar ainda chove logo à tarde.

It might well rain later this afternoon.

Register: formal vs colloquial

Adverbial phrases span the whole register spectrum. Some are neutral (com cuidado, de repente), some lean formal (com frequência, por vezes, de facto), and some are distinctly colloquial (se calhar, a correr, de mansinho, de jeito nenhum, à toa).

Colloquial	Neutral	Formal
se calhar	talvez	eventualmente / possivelmente
a correr	à pressa	apressadamente
de mansinho	em silêncio	silenciosamente
muitas vezes	frequentemente	com frequência
de jeito nenhum	de modo nenhum	de maneira nenhuma
à toa	sem razão	despropositadamente

Se calhar vamos ao cinema logo à noite.

Maybe we'll go to the cinema tonight. (colloquial)

Possivelmente iremos ao cinema esta noite.

We may possibly go to the cinema tonight. (formal — stiffer)

The colloquial se calhar is a PT-PT marker of everyday speech; a foreign learner who uses it in casual conversation instantly sounds more integrated. Eventualmente in formal writing is correct but unusual — and beware: in PT-PT it keeps the Latin meaning of possibly or at some point, not the anglicism "eventually" (in the end).

When a -mente adverb does not exist

Some adverbial phrases have no -mente equivalent at all. They are the only way to say that thing.

Phrase	Meaning	Why no -mente
de cor	by heart	from noun "cor" (memory/chord)
a pé	on foot	from noun, no adjective
de bicicleta / de carro / de comboio	by bike / car / train	means of transport
em voz alta / baixa	aloud / quietly	fixed phrase
à vontade	at ease	fixed phrase
à toa	aimlessly	fixed phrase
ao acaso	at random	from noun "acaso"
em vão	in vain	fossilized Latinism

Vou ao trabalho a pé todos os dias.

I walk to work every day.

Escolhi ao acaso e saiu-me um prato ótimo.

I picked at random and got a great dish.

Tentei convencê-lo, mas em vão.

I tried to convince him, but in vain.

Placement of adverbial phrases

Syntactically, adverbial phrases occupy the same positions as single-word adverbs — see adverb placement for the full picture. Two points worth noting here:

Longer adverbial phrases tend to migrate to the ends of the clause, because wedging a five-word expression between auxiliary and participle feels heavy.
Time and frequency phrases are especially comfortable at the front, where they set the topic.

De vez em quando, apetece-me um gelado.

From time to time, I fancy an ice cream. (front position — natural)

Apetece-me um gelado de vez em quando.

I fancy an ice cream from time to time. (end position — also fine)

Apetece-me, de vez em quando, um gelado.

I fancy, from time to time, an ice cream. (parenthetical — slightly marked)

Common mistakes

❌ Eu vou ao cinema vezes em quando.

Incorrect — the fixed phrase is de vez em quando, not vezes em quando.

✅ Eu vou ao cinema de vez em quando.

I go to the cinema from time to time.

❌ Falámos em voz alto.

The noun voz is feminine, so the adjective agrees: em voz alta.

✅ Falámos em voz alta.

We spoke aloud.

❌ Ele chegou com a pressa.

Article is dropped in à pressa / com pressa — these are fixed phrases.

✅ Ele chegou à pressa. / Ele chegou com pressa.

He arrived in a rush.

❌ Não gosto de filme nada.

De todo, not nada, is the natural intensifier with gostar in negation.

✅ Não gosto de todo do filme.

I don't like the film at all.

❌ Perto da minha casa mora a minha irmã.

Not wrong, but ao pé de is far more idiomatic in PT-PT.

✅ Ao pé da minha casa mora a minha irmã.

My sister lives right near my place.

❌ Eventualmente chegaremos, não te preocupes. (intending 'eventually')

PT-PT eventualmente means 'possibly,' not 'eventually' — a classic false friend with English.

✅ Mais cedo ou mais tarde chegaremos. / Acabaremos por chegar.

We'll arrive eventually, don't worry.

❌ Ele fez com propósito.

The fixed phrase is de propósito, not com propósito.

✅ Ele fez de propósito.

He did it on purpose.

Key takeaways

An adverbial phrase (locução adverbial) is a fixed multi-word expression that acts as a single adverb.
PT-PT uses adverbial phrases more than English does — often where English would use a single-word -ly adverb.
The main structural patterns are: preposition + noun (com cuidado, de repente), noun + preposition + noun (pouco a pouco), preposition + adjective/adverb (ao certo, por pouco), and fixed idiomatic expressions (de vez em quando, à toa).
For manner, native speakers prefer prepositional phrases over -mente adverbs in everyday speech: com cuidado is more natural than cuidadosamente.
Some adverbial ideas have no -mente equivalent at all: de cor (by heart), a pé (on foot), em voz alta (aloud).
Register matters: se calhar is colloquial, talvez is neutral, possivelmente is formal — all three mean "maybe."
Placement follows the same rules as single-word adverbs, but longer phrases tend to drift to the edges of the clause.
Ao pé de (next to) and se calhar (maybe) are distinctive PT-PT markers — learn them and use them.